I'm building a new quiet gaming machine, using the Fractal Designs Define R4 and I wanted to ask for suggestions on fan placement in the case. From building my brothers machine last year in a P182 I know I don't want to uncover the top vents as they produced the most noise. I was thinking about 4 fans: 2 front intake + 1 bottom intake and 1 exhaust. Below are some options I was thinking about.

Option 1: I was thinking about moving the rear 140mm fan to the 2nd front intake (and adding it to the controller). Then buying 2 more 140mm fans, 1 for the bottom and 1 for the rear. The thought here would be that I could use the controller to keep the stock fans from full speed.

Option 2: Move the front fan to the bottom vent and buy 2 new fans for the front. The thought here would be that the front fan noise would be the most noticeable, so putting the best fans in front.

Option 3: Buy 4 fans. If the case fans are junk, grabbing 4 new fans.

For fans, the spec's on the Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilentPro PK-2 seem to be pretty good; ~55CFM for 20db, and the brand seems to be well liked here. I was also looking at Cooler Master R4-S4S-10AK-GP but they seem almost unreal (60CFM for 16db-a) and cheap. Are they really that good or is there marketing dept a little overzealous.

I also have been pondering about fan placements as I'm interested in the R4. The last post in this forum by someone found that adding a second front intake doesn't help much (although I suspect it'll help cool hard drives if placed there), but adding a side intake fan does. However, if the R4 is anything like the R2 in SPCR's review, then the side will be much louder because there's no door or filter to guard it.

If I buy the R4 I'll aim for positive air pressure (2 intakes, 1 exhaust) because I despise dust. I plan to leave the 2 stock 140mms and add another intake fan to the bottom, where it'll likely be the most quiet of the 3.

However, if the R4 is anything like the R2 in SPCR's review, then the side will be much louder because there's no door or filter to guard it.

I believe the much increased noise level when using the side fan wasn't because of the fan itself but rather the level of vibration that was caused by the side fan. If you were to decouple the fan from the side panel, then this noise should disappear.

On a side note, though some dust will enter the inside of the case, the side fan has been proven (at least in the tested system) to have the most significant effect on cooling.

If the fans you get with the case are as good as mine then I'd go with Option 1. Not necessarily even including the bottom intake but keep it as an added option by all means. A good PWM controlled fan like I suppose the Be Quiet Shadow Wings 140 PWM is will be excellent for exhaust. Assuming parts like an i5 together with a graphics card like maybe a HD7950 or GTX 670 there won't be any need for a fan in the top or side positions.

They are pretty long and together with a normal length of fan wire it shouldn't be a problem to reach any of the vents or intakes. If ever using the side panel intake together with the controller, getting an extension cable would be useful for practical reasons.

Interesting article. It's too bad for almost all the tests done, they left all the case vents open.

Kuzzia, do you think that buying some Anti-vibration mounts for the side fan would lessen the noise? I see they also may fan filters so I could rig the side fan for dust free operation. Given the results in that article, adding a side fan seemed to help overall case temps.

Yeah that article had some weaknesses. And of course a side intake will lower temperatures over that area, but is it necessary? It won't be worth it. There's no avoiding the factor that opening up the side will let noise slip out. Don't worry about vibrations anyhow, as these sides are so heavily mass loaded that a fan won't make them resonate.

haha yeah, the Video Card will probably be the noisiest piece in my machine and putting an open hole right next to it would not help.

I'll probably go with option 1. I've tried to read up on positive pressure, they mentioned they were going to talk about it in that article but I didn't see it. In my head I'm assuming with 3 intakes and 1 exhaust, I should be able to put my hand near the open vents in the back and feel some airflow coming out of them, correct?

Also any suggestions on 140mm fans that can be bought in the US? I've been trying to Youtube the models on newegg since I'm finding the specs listed are not as quiet as they say. The cougar fans were some I was looking at but they seemed to have a odd clicking noise. Everyone seems to love the BeQuiet models but I can't find them in the US. So far the BitFenix Spectre Pro's seem decent if a tad bit loud at full speed. Enermax UC-MA12 was rated well on Anandtech and is decently cheap. The GT's sound alright but I'm not sure if they make good case fans.

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